Bark-Walker
by VioletVappy
Summary: A young Wood Elf girl flees from the Renrijra Krin after an accidental slaughter of her friends and family.


_Dear Diary;_

_ I don't know why I lead with that anymore, I'm not 12 anymore…perhaps it's the comfort of when things were simpler…day 14 on the run from the Krin, I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, my bow is almost broken and the Green Pact makes it pretty much impossible to make a new one. Close to abandoning that shit, what good has "Yffre's Protection" done for me anyway…_

_ \- Elieri_

A small "fwap" filled the cave where a small Bosmer sat next to a dim fire, the dancing flames mesmerizing as their light bounced teasingly off the craggy walls. The Mer sighed and stretched her legs out towards the fire, letting it warm her aching feet.

"Maybe one day all this won't be so hard." Elieri murmured before letting out a soft yawn. There were gentle sounds coming from outside the cave, sounds that she was far too tired to care about. Maybe they were the Renrijra Krin, maybe they were a young couple, or a hunting party searching for tonight's dinner. None of that mattered though, not now. Not ever, maybe.

Elieri let out a small, animalistic growl and picked up her journal again, collecting the inkwell from behind her knapsack and the falcon's feather from her hair. A slight furrow in her brow, she began to write once more, curling her toes against the relentless heat of the fire.

It was an uncharacteristically cold night in Northwest Valenwood, almost as if the forest spirits themselves wept at this poor girl's misfortune. 2 weeks ago she was a simple village girl, hunting and singing and laughing, completely unaware of her past, her birth, her curse. Life was simple, and Elieri was happy.

Was.

_Was…why did that have to happen, why of all times then?! As if being young isn't enough of a fucking shitshow, turns out I'm…I can't even bring myself to say it. Damn my parents to Coldharbour, the bastards. It's their fault! They did this! Why…did I have to be born like this, at all…_

Her large green eyes skimmed the pages, scrying for any errors in spelling. Not like it mattered, it was in ink after all. With another sigh she "fwap"-ed the journal shut once more and threw her back down against the floor, a stolen knee pillow guarding her skull from the cold cave floor. The fire beginning to slowly fade, Elieri let out a final yawn and reluctantly closed her eyes, drifting begrudgingly off to sleep.

_**We killed them…**_

__"W-what…? Where am I?" Elieri spoke with a pained tone, as a shooting headache bore through her skull like a Hoarvor through skin.

_**You…killed them.**_

__A sharp pain hit Elieri's right ear, pushing her to a kneel, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I didn't…No…I didn't kill them..!"

_** Oh but you did…**_

Managing to open her eyes through the agony, Elieri was met with the predatory gaze of a large werewolf. Standing at at least 7 feet tall, it dwarfed the now standing Elieri, who couldn't help break eye contact with the beast. She couldn't help but notice something was eerily familiar about this monster. Too familiar.

"Who are you?" She said, gritting her teeth and striking a fairly basic combative stance. The beast chuckled and snarled, sending a vile chill down Elieri's spine.

_** Faolin.**_

Another blast of unbelievable agony sent Elieri to the floor, shrieking in pain. That name, why did it hurt so much…?

"D-don't…fucking say that name…" She murmured, hobbling to her shaking feet once more.

_**Or?**_

__The beast grinned evilly, watching in apparent pleasure at the pained Elf at its feet. Leaning its head down so it was level with hers, it stared into Elieri's verdant eyes once more. They were definitely hers.

_**Faolin is your name, is it not?**_

__Letting out a roar, Elieri slammed her palm into the beast's nose, sending it whirling backwards with a yelp.

"I told you not to call me that. That isn't my name." She said with a soft wince, the shooting pain in her head turning more to a droning throb. The wolf stood up, a small stream of blood dripping from its black nose as inhuman anger filled its eyes.

_**Bad boy.**_

__Before Elieri could react, the beast was inches from her body. Its fur coarse and matted, the blood from its damaged nose dripping onto Elieri's cheek. Distracted by the sudden advancement, she hadn't noticed that the wolf had buried its vile claws into her side, impaling her stomach as warm blood pooled at her feet. She let out a small and pathetic whimper as tears started streaming down her face.

_**You would do well to remember that I own you.**_

With a grunt the monster ripped its razor appendages out of Elieri's side with the sickening sound of metal on bone and ripped flesh. With a soft gasp she collapsed to the ground, soaking her clothing in the growing pool of blood around her.

_**And that you are no better than me.**_

Elieri was thrown awake with a gasp, the pain from the dream still pounding away inside her skull. Quickly and frantically moving her hands to her sides she checked for wounds, holes, and blood. Finding none, she moved her hand to her nose, which was moved slightly out of place and dripping a soft stream of crimson blood. At this revelation a pit in her stomach opened, and at this revelation she threw her hands to her face and cried.

It had been many months since Elieri had slept well, always reliving moments from her past in her dreams, none of them pleasant. She had taken to using natural sedatives found in local frogs, but had since run out and was paying the price for it with a full week of sleep deprivation.

"Look brother, a cave!"

Elieri's eyes shot open, red from the tears as she turned her head towards the voice. It was Khajiiti in accent, this was bad.

"Ah yes, perhaps our little quarry is in here?"

"Mmm This One thinks she might be, brother."

Scrambling to her feet, Elieri frantically scanned her abode for a place to hide, and a weapon. Managing to find an old Iron Dagger her pack she cut the rigging on her tent and dove under it, flattening herself as much as she could against the ground. The padding of digitigrade feet echoed through the small cave until it reached her camp, where it stopped and was replaced by the sound of drawn steel.

"Kesh, if you see anything stab it. Her bounty said nothing about her being brought back alive." There was a grunt of ambiguous agreement as the two Khajiit set upon the camp.

Elieri gently lifted up the bit of cloth in front of her eyes, allowing her to get a look at the feet of her assailants. Useless info, earning an inaudible grunt from Elieri as she began to slowly turn the dagger backwards in her hand. In a single movement she leapt from under the tent and slashed aimlessly at the left foot of the Khajiit nearest to her. Feeling her strike land, she dug it inward, earning a shriek from the victim as he tumbled to the floor, dropping his weapon as Elieri pulled the dagger out of his foot.

"Dark moons!" Screamed the other Khajiit as he hesitated slightly with his weapon, giving Elieri time to give him a swift kick to the groin. As her current target doubled over in breathless agony Elieri turned to look at her the other cat, writhing on the floor, struggling like a wounded elk.

_**Finish him off. Finish your prey and watch it squirm.**_

The headache from the dream shot painfully through her skull once more as Elieri felt her grip tighten on the dagger and her legs pull her down on top of the suffering Khajiit.

_**Stare into its eyes.**_

No time passed between the echo of the Wolf's voice in her head and her hands driving the dagger straight into the heart of the bleeding cat. Elieri's eyes felt as if they were glued open as the Khajiit's catlike eyes met hers, begging for ungiven mercy as the dagger dug ever deeper into his heart. With a turn of the dagger, the Krin was dead, and Elieri regained control of herself for but a moment before receiving a sharp kick to the back of the head, sending her tumbling forward over her kill.

"Unclawed bitch! You shall pay for that!" The other Khajiit had recovered from his previous injury and was now standing over Elieri, drawing a curved sword and pointing it right at her throat. Instinct demanded she roll to the right, and she complied, causing the assailant's blade to meet the hard stone of the cavern floor.

Without a second thought Elieri jumped to her feet and pulled the dagger out of the heart of the dead Khajiit next to her, turning to see the one that was still alive lunging at her, fangs barred and ears back. Elieri ducked under his first swing, unprofessionally telegraphed beforehand. The miss caused the sword to once again bounce against the wall of the cave, showering Elieri in sparks and lighting the room. The Khajiit hissed and thrust at Elieri's stomach, missing by millimeters as she dove to the side and used this opportunity to tackle the Khajiit at the waist, sending them both crashing into the wall behind the Krin.

Elieri seized this opportunity and slashed clumsily at the furred wrist holding the cat's sword. Once again feeling her dagger meet flesh, she began to stab and slash relentlessly at that spot until she felt bone. Completely drowned by her adrenaline, she didn't hear the cat scream, and nor did she notice him draw the claws in his other hand.

"Shaveskin scum!" He hissed as he dug his claws deep into Elieri's back, causing her to let out a shrill yelp. "I am Renrijra! You are a little girl!"

_**Show him what you really are, Faolin. **_

"N-no…"

The Krin drew his claws upwards, slashing up the length of Elieri's back. Through the pain she felt her back warm with her own blood, snapping her out of the trance brought on by the wolf's voice. With an animalistic roar and inhuman strength, Elieri grabbed the Khajiit's arm and squeezed, feeling muscle give way as his bone snapped, causing a yelp, hiss and a retraction of the cat's claws. Once again seizing this opportunity, Elieri drove a balled fist hard into the Krin's ribs, feeling them snap at her touch with a sickening crack.

"Fuck!" He managed to gasp as Elieri grabbed his other hand from her back, twisting it backwards and snapping it as well. "P-please, have mercy on this one!"

_**Mercy is for the weak.**_

Elieri threw the man to the ground as he whimpered and begged, saying words she couldn't hear anymore. Not through the voices.

_**We are not weak.**_

A final strike to the neck ended the life of the second Krin, who gurgled softly to the afterlife with the dignity of a drunk Nord. Through lidded eyes Elieri gazed upon her kill, hands covered in blood as her own dribbled out of the wounds on her back. Lacking conscious thought, she hobbled weakly over to her now bloodstained pack, producing a clear, ordinary looking bottle filled with a strange pink liquid. Pulling it to her lips she drank, blind to its taste.

Feeling the flow coming from her back begin to cease with a familiar and strong tingle, Elieri sat back against the cave wall, slowly regaining control of herself once more. Her eyes were pulled to her hands, covered in blood that wasn't hers. Her eyes were then pulled to the two Khajiits, laying dead and mangled on the floor of her once homely cave. Her eyes were then finally pulled into her hands, where she sobbed into the blood of her hunters.

The sun outside the cave had begun to rise, drenching the crying Mer in its dim light.

Day 15.


End file.
